Danowski, nonrevenue coaches get 1 year contracts

[bluedevil]

During the lacrosse semifinal against Cornell, ESPN's Quint Kessenich interviewed Mrs. Danowski who's a radiologist still living in Long Island while John Danowski lives in an apartment and talks about missing her. She won't come to Durham until John signs a new contract and like almost all nonrevenue "Olympic" coaches at Duke, Danowski only gets a 1 year contract. I guess womens basketball is the exception since the market pays up to $1+ million with long term contracts, even though Gail was making a small fraction of that with only 2 years left on a paltry 4 year contract. Danowski said he started contract negotiations with Alleva but won't finalize it until next week at the earliest, after the final four. Coach K gets a lifetime contract and tens of millions for training facilities and offices that do nothing for recruiting, while Duke funds the fewest scholarships in the ACC and even less than Wake Forest, and championship coaches like Brooks, Rennie, Danowski, etc., get one year contracts?? No wonder Duke keeps choking in the NCAA tournament, coaches are stressing about job security and money and contracts and other offers, etc. Is that why womens soccer coach Hempen left and Alleva hired subpar Church?

One year contracts?? Guess Goestenkors wasn't the exception, does Alleva and Duke want all of Duke's decent coaches to leave? Even Kessenich was talking about how pathetic the one year contract unresolved through the final four was for Alleva and Duke, but not for Danowski since he would be a hot commodity to coach other programs around the country.

[Atlanta Duke]

You are absolutely right - over the last 25 years Duke has received virtually nothing in return for the $$ it pours down the rathole of the men's basketball program. The men's basketball program is the clear culprit for problems in any other sport.

What have the administrators been thinking??!!

[msdukie]

I'm pretty sure that no one said that all the other "non-revenue" coaches (i.e. Olympic Sports) at Duke have 1-year contracts. All that was said (and was already well-known) was that Danowksi was on a one-year contract. Maybe you didn't notice, but there were "special circumstances" revolving around the men's lacrosse program this year which were also related to his hiring. I'm sure that he will be signing a long-term deal in the near future.

P.S. Can we get over this women's basketball is a non-revenue sport rant. Both the NCAA and Duke classify it as a revenue sport. Each game, the budgets, and the cost of tickets factor into that. Just because a sport doesn't make money doesn't make it "non-revenue" (yeah, I know Duke football does presumably make money from the TV contract and ACC bowl shares).

P.P.S. Yeah, that Dan Brooks, his teams keep choking in the NCAA tournament over his job situation.

[Kewlswim]

You are absolutely right - over the last 25 years Duke has received virtually nothing in return for the $$ it pours down the rathole of the men's basketball program. The men's basketball program is the clear culprit for problems in any other sport.

What have the administrators been thinking??!!

This was humor, right? You aren't serious? I would like to see more scholarships in other sports, but I would hardly call putting money into men's hoops a "rat hole." Again, if you are just joking, I apologize. I am a bit nervous at the moment. Tomorrow, I want to see the men's LAX team win really badly.

GO DUKE!

[ikiru36]

This was humor, right? You aren't serious? I would like to see more scholarships in other sports, but I would hardly call putting money into men's hoops a "rat hole." Again, if you are just joking, I apologize. I am a bit nervous at the moment. Tomorrow, I want to see the men's LAX team win really badly.

GO DUKE!

I'm pretty sure that Atlanta Duke was being facetious in response to bluedevil (and if not, well, I agree with you, kewlswim). For whatever reason, bluedevil has yet again brought up this contention that Coach K somehow rules Duke University imperially, and specifically is at fault for Duke failing to spend enough on Coaches salaries...etc. in all other University sports. (Apparently K's ego fears that success elsewhere within the University might somehow diminish his own achievements.)

This issue is raised again, despite much contradicting evidence plus the fact that Duke has somehow managed, in a Power Conference and with its academic rigors (and without a number of Winter Sports programs), to finish consistently in the Top 20 in the Directors' Cup (frequently, Top 10). Seriously, save your keyboards and don't try to argue this one on logic or facts.

I'm no big fan of Alleva, but this line of argument seems rather unfair, utilizing incorrect extrapolation of random comments on TV, selective facts, and mean-spirited pop psychology. If there were such an anti-"non-revenue" sport cabal at Duke, I'd actually like to know about it but I'm yet to see any validated information in conjunction with logic to support this slanderous contention. As much as I love Duke Men's hoops, I've always taken as much pride from any of our team's successes. Gladly, there continues to be a lot to be proud of (just this week, wtg Women's Golf, Women's Lacrosse and Men's Lacrosse to just name the few I'm aware of!)

Go Duke Lax!!!!!!!! Go Devils!!!!!!!!!!!!! GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Atlanta Duke]

This was humor, right? You aren't serious? I would like to see more scholarships in other sports, but I would hardly call putting money into men's hoops a "rat hole." Again, if you are just joking, I apologize. I am a bit nervous at the moment. Tomorrow, I want to see the men's LAX team win really badly.

GO DUKE!

No - I am absolutely serious - nationwide recognition, 10 Final Fours, 3 national championships and more ACC championships than I can immediately recall over the last quarter century is a record that certainly is not up to the high standards we annually have come to expect from our other men's revenue sport - football.

Fire K now!

[paekwon]

I'm pretty sure that no one said that all the other "non-revenue" coaches (i.e. Olympic Sports) at Duke have 1-year contracts.

Actually -- my understanding through conversations with several olympic sports coaches at Duke have supported this assertion. olympic sports coaches are initially offerred one year contracts. . .

[bill brill]

bluedevil is simply wrong, in many ways. goestenkors was the no. 2 salaried coach when she left for texas. she was offered $1M to stay plus got all her requests satisfied, including more plane charters. she would have been behind only summit and geno nationally. Coach P was making more than $540K at msu and certainly didn't come to duke for a pay cut. some people simply don't realize all that K has done for the school, and that includes some faculty. The K lab, duke children's hospital, the fuqua seat and the leadership conference annually, most of the money raised for the practice facility, legacy fund, personal scholarship contributions. he is trying to endow the entire men's program and wanted to do the same for the women, which was denied/ignored. he offered to raise money himself. he wants all duke teams to be good. if they were all as good as his, he would be delighted. despite the tragic (to me) endings of the two lacrosse games this weekend, duke still had the most successful director's cup week in school history -- 100 points women's golf, 90 men's lacrosse, 84 women's lacrosse, probably enuf to make the top 10 for the third straight year. the obvious reason for the lack of total grants is cost of $45K per scholarship. unc even gets to count out-of-state athletes as in-state to lower costs significantly. duke does what tom butters always wanted, fund the programs that can compete nationally. kathleen smith, faculty athletic rep, reported to trustees that 11 of 15 funded teams were in top ten sometime this year. what she didn't say was that four were no. 1 at one time or another. if duke ever could figure out football, a 40-year problem, things would be in great shape. the most recent hires, bozman in field hockey, mcnally in baseball, and danowski in lacrosse, have been excellent. there is incredible interest in men's golf for the next coach. criticize if you wish, but get ur facts straight.

[duketaylor]

there is incredible interest in men's golf for the next coach. criticize if you wish, but get ur facts straight.
Bill, could you please send a message regarding this statement. I would greatly appreciate it and you may well know why;)

[duketaylor]

For anyone that doesn't think or know that Dan Brooks, the women's golf coach, is totally happy with his current position then you simply don't understand. He's not even interested in the men's program from what I've heard. He has a great niche and is enjoying it (I talked with him last week). I expressed to him my interest in the men's program finding the best-suited candidate, as I have to Joe Alleva. My golf coach's passing has been rough on many of us and we all want a proper suitor for the position. I've heard there are plenty of qualified folks interested and I'll be following it closely. It's a great career at a great university, to be sure.